Abu Dhabi Challenge: Coma Loses Time

On Tuesday, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Round 1 in the 2012 FIM Cross Country Rallies World Championship, put many riders to the ultimate test, including MRW KTM’s Marc Coma.

The Spaniard, who won the race five times, including the past three, finished Stage 2 in 11th position, which dropped his overall standing to second. Coma now trails Joan Barreda following the stage which took riders 269 miles, with 175 miles timed.

MRW reports “(Coma) saw rivals who set off after him catch up in the dunes, and as a result he placed eleventh on Tuesday, 11 minutes and 11 seconds off winner Rubén Faría.
In addition to opening the stage, Coma also came up against the strong winds that have changed the profile of the dunes over the past few days.

“The new peaks resulted in a need to be extra cautious and ended up costing Coma time. Nonetheless, the MRW rider clocked a final time of 4 hours, 20 minutes and 14 seconds and was happy to have solved a fuel problem experienced yesterday.

Marc Coma (MRW Repsol KTM 450 Rally) says: “Today we had a difficult stage, in the open desert. We know how difficult it would be opening the route, as this prevents you going fast and gives a small advantage to those behind you. The aim today was to go as fast as possible, but without taking unnecessary risks.

“The key was trying to lose as little time as possible to keep us in with a chance of winning the race. We will be trying to make the most of the fact that we are starting further back tomorrow to recover ground. I think that it is the longest stage of the rally and could be a very important day for deciding the race. A key factor will be getting through tomorrow without problems.”

Wednesday will take the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge riders 264 miles that begins with a 36-mile run, followed by a timed 104-mile section, a transition route of five miles, followed by a special stage of 110 miles.

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